Remember Finnish phonemaker Nokia Oyj.'s (HEL:NOK1V) incredible "41 megapixel" PureView 808? The phone was more than just hype -- it was an engineering marvel packing Carl Zeiss optics paired with a sensor that was four times the size of that found in the camera of Apple, Inc.'s traditionally well-regarded (AAPL) iPhone 4S -- commonly viewed as an industry leader in image quality.

A smartphone to rival discrete digital cameras, the most baffling and disappointing aspect of the announcement was that the operating system involved was Symbian Belle, a soon-to-be-defunct in-house design from Nokia.

But just as the collective Darth Vader-esque "NOOOO!!!" swept the smartphone community, Nokia has apparently come to its senses, revealing that a Windows Phone variant (in the Lumia family) is on its way.

[Image Source: Fone Arena]

Nokia SVP of Mobile Phones Jo Harlow broke the good news in an interview with Finnish newspaper Aamuleht. Better still, other sources say the phone is likely destined to hit American shores in Windows Phone form.

Nokia already has a very attractive Windows Phone lineup emerging in the U.S., led by the sleek and chic Lumia 900 LTE. But those attractive models may pale in comparison to the Lumia PureView 808 whose awesome optics would make it the Windows Phone to get -- period -- and perhaps even the phone to get of any smartphone, for photo buffs.

The phone is expected to carry Microsoft's coming Apollo release, and according to Ms. Harlow (translated), "I can’t say precisely when [the Windows Phone variant will launch], but it will not take very long."

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So it sounds like a buyers -- possibly U.S. buyers, may be able to get their greedy paws on this marvelous device before the end of the year.